


Something Like Magic

by nothingwithoutyouxo



Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: (sort of), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 11:27:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16554896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nothingwithoutyouxo/pseuds/nothingwithoutyouxo
Summary: In an attempt to prove to Rose that she's his soulmate, Scorpius draws a ridiculous amount of flowers on his hand so that it'll appear on hers. At school the next day, when he sees them on Albus' hand instead, Scorpius is thrown into a state of panic.





	Something Like Magic

**Author's Note:**

  * For [condensed_mmilk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/condensed_mmilk/gifts).



> Hello!! It's been a while. Two years actually since I wrote anything substantial for these characters, but I was sent a very polite and lovely prompt on Tumblr so I just had to pull this together. Apologies for the cheesy title. It was going to have an even cheesier one but this grabbed me instead. 
> 
> To, [condensed-mmilk](http://condensed-mmilk.tumblr.com/) who requested this (and to anyone else that reads it), I hope you like it!

It was fairly common, especially amongst people his age, for soulmates to be discovered through drawings. It was something that Scorpius had heard about pretty often. It was even something that happened at school. For whatever reason, if you drew something on yourself it would appear on your soulmate the next day. So, after an increasing amount of failed attempts to prove to Rose that she was indeed his soulmate, Scorpius had finally caved and decided this was the way he would do so. Maybe because it was getting late and his brain was far too tired to be focusing on something of this scale. Maybe because he was starting to get just a little desperate, because he knew who his soulmate was. It’s just that his soulmate didn’t agree with him.

 

Scorpius had already decided that he’d draw roses. Cliche? Absolutely. A little too obvious considering who his soulmate was? Sure, but it was exactly what he needed. He’d draw them all over his hand and then the next day when he went to school, Rose would finally have the proof that she needed. She’d finally realise they were soulmates. He’d never been more excited for anything in his life.

 

***

 

He spent the next morning in a state of blissful ignorance. The second he made it to school, he made a beeline for Rose’s locker and couldn’t help smiling when he came to a stop next to her. She was gazing down at a book, one hand holding onto it and the other holding her locker open. He saw her eyes flick to him for a split second, but she didn’t acknowledge him more than that.

 

“Morning, Rose,” he smiled, voice possibly a little too cheery considering how early it was.

 

Rose sighed, closed the book in her hands and looked up at him. “Scorpius,” she greeted. Her brow furrowed when he didn’t say anything else, just rocked back on his heels and continued smiling. “So, what do you want?”

 

“A date,” he shrugged, hoping that he seemed more casual than he felt.

 

She rolled her eyes at him. “Not this again.”

 

“Yes, this again. I have proof now that I’m right.”

 

“Sure you do.”

 

“No, I do. Check your hand.”

 

Rose stared at him for a moment longer before holding her hands out. “There’s nothing on my hands. What are you on about?”

 

Scorpius looked down and felt something start to gnaw at him. Confusion? Regret? He had no idea. There was supposed to be _something_. He reached out and took hold of her left wrist, not entirely registering her protest.

 

“What did you do?” she asked, bringing him right back down to earth. He dropped her hand. Rose crossed her arms over her chest and just looked at him as he tried to piece together what was happening.

 

“I don’t get it. They’re supposed to be on your wrist,” he muttered.

 

Her eyebrows pulled together. “Did you try the drawing thing?”

 

He nodded, not sure if he could trust his voice at the moment. This didn’t make sense.

 

“Scorpius, we’re not soulmates. How many times do I have to tell you that before it gets through your skull?” He didn’t say anything in response and she sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead and suddenly seeming very tired. “You know this literally means there’s someone out there in the world right now with whatever you drew on their hand.”

 

Scorpius’ eyes fell to the ground so he could avoid hers. He’d been so sure it was her. It had to have been her. “Who else could it be?” he managed, voice barely above a whisper at this point.

 

“Well, I have an idea but there’s no way I’m telling you.”

 

His head snapped up. “Why?”

 

“This is your problem now.” She turned, closing her locker quickly and throwing her bag over her shoulder. “Good luck figuring it out.”

 

Scorpius watched her stalk off down the corridor. Everything felt strange. It had to be Rose. There was no one else. Why wasn’t it her? He blinked. His brain felt fuzzy in a way he’d never experienced before. As if his whole world had been thrown out of balance. He sighed, pulled on the straps of his bag and headed towards his locker instead. Part of him vaguely registered that Albus was standing at his. Scorpius didn’t even look in his direction as he stopped next to him, launching his locker open and shuffling through his book with far less care than he usually did.

 

“Did something happen?”

 

He squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t want to talk about this right now. Not even to Albus. “Yeah, I guess so.”

 

Albus paused for a moment. Scorpius heard him close his locker but continued to stare into his. “Did she turn you down again?” His voice was quieter now, almost as if he dreaded asking.

 

He sighed, ran a hand over his face. After a moment he closed his locker and turned to face Albus. He didn’t think an answer to that question was necessary. He was sure that Albus knew he was right. His best friend knew him too well.

 

“Well, no one can say you aren’t persistent. Almost to the point that it’s borderline creepy.”

 

There was on doubt in his mind that Albus was trying to cheer him up. It was just unfortunate that it wasn’t quite working. It was clear that he already knew that.

 

Albus reached up to pull at the string of his hoodie absently. It was something he did whenever he had no idea what to say. He just needed something to do with his hands to break the awkwardness of the moment. His stretched out sleeve slipped down just a little and Scorpius could make out what seemed to be ink on Albus’ hand. His stomach dropped immediately.

 

“What’s that on your hand?” he asked, not entirely aware that he was staring.

 

“Oh, um.” Albus swallowed, pulled at the sleeve again to hide it and crossed his hands over his chest as if that would make it disappear. “It’s nothing. My, uh, my soulmate likes to draw, I guess.”

 

“Your soulmate?” Scorpius hoped that the strain in his voice wasn’t as clear to Albus as it was to him. There was no way this was happening. “Can I see it?”

 

“It’s just - they’re just some flowers, I think. It’s not important.”

 

Scorpius looked at him for a moment. He noted immediately that Albus seemed kind of shaken. Nervous in a way that was even more so than usual. “Well, are they any good?” He knew that he was trying to make light of the situation. It probably wasn’t working because he knew that Albus could tell that something was wrong.

 

Even so, he pulled his sleeve down and held his hand out. Scorpius recognised the drawing immediately. The intricate lines of the flowers that took him far too long to draw the night before. The smudge from when he’d messed up and tried to cover it. His heart was beating painfully in his chest. He had no idea what to think. It was supposed to be for Rose. She was supposed to be his soulmate. Not his best friend. He looked up, almost afraid to meet Albus’ eyes but he wasn’t looking at him. He was staring down at the ground instead, his messy hair falling in front of his eyes and hiding them from view. Scorpius didn’t think there was any way that he could fix this. “Albus, I -”

 

“I know that it wasn’t meant for me.”

 

His pulse was beating uncomfortably in his ears.

 

“I’m not stupid.” There was an edge to his voice, a bitterness.

 

“I know that,” he said. Part of him wanted Albus to look up at him. Part of him didn’t know what he’d see if he did. “I guess that - I guess we’re soulmates.”

 

“Yeah, you don’t have to sound so sad about it.”

 

“Albus, it’s not like that.”

 

He shook his head and looked up at him. Scorpius couldn’t tell if he seemed more angry or upset but either way it was starting to tear him apart. “I know what roses look like, Scorpius. You like my cousin. I’ve noticed.”

 

He had no idea what he could say to that as Albus wrenched his hand out of his grip. The only thing that came to mind was an apology, but when he opened his mouth Albus just shook his head again, effectively silencing him.

 

“It’s whatever,” he muttered, and then turned on his heel and started off down the corridor.

 

Scorpius didn’t have the strength to follow him. Not when he had no idea what he wanted to say. Not when he couldn’t distinguish any of his thoughts from each other. His head was a mess and his heart was still shuddering painfully in his chest. This was awful. The bell rang overhead and he cursed. He started heading towards his first class, barely registering anything around him. He felt like he was on autopilot. Then he spotted Rose and immediately crossed the hallway, grabbing onto her arm and pulling her around a corner.

 

“Malfoy, you better get your hands off me now or I swear - “

 

“Did you know?” he asked, quickly letting go of her.

 

She just looked at him.

 

He hated that she knew what he was talking about. He hated that she was making him say it anyway. “Did you know it was Albus?”

 

She softened. He wondered if he looked as crazy as he felt right now. “I knew,” she said.

 

Scorpius had no idea why he felt like crying. There was just so much happening all at once.

 

Rose sighed. She rested a hand against his shoulder, gentle in a way that she never was with him. “What did you draw?” she asked.

 

The dread in her voice told him that she already knew the answer. “Exactly what you think I did.” He was so _stupid_.

 

Her hand on his shoulder tightened. “I could slap you.”

 

And, she was back. “You should.”

 

She looked at him for a moment and then her hand dropped from his shoulder. “I need to get to class,” she muttered, “but I hope you can fix this.”

 

 _I hope so too_.

 

***

 

Albus wished that he hadn’t got out of bed that morning. This would all be a lot easier to deal with if he didn’t have to sit through English class and listen to his teacher drone on about Shakespeare. Macbeth could drop dead for all he cared. None of it mattered to him right now, and he couldn’t focus on anything. Well, anything that wasn’t Scorpius. The issue was that thinking about his best friend was one of his brain’s default settings, but right now that caused him nothing but utter pain. Albus pulled the sleeve of his hoodie over his hand, balling it up in his fist and successfully hiding the sickening roses from view. He hated that he couldn’t figure out what he was feeling. Angry? Sad? Betrayed? Was he even _allowed_ to feel betrayed? It wasn’t like Scorpius had shown any interest in anyone that wasn’t Rose Granger-Weasley. There had never been any sort of inkling that Scorpius could have any sort of feelings for _him_. At least, not in the way he had himself. His head was a mess and more than anything he just wanted to be away from it all. Away from this class, this school, his own thoughts. Why couldn’t he ever just escape when he needed to?

 

It took what felt like an eternity for the bell to ring, the sound breaking into his haze of depressed confusion and chilling him to the core. Albus knew that his brother had a free period now, and while skipping class was definitely something that shouldn’t be on his mind, he’d take his brother’s company over economics anyday. Albus slunk through the halls, head down to avoid anyone’s eyes and steered himself all the way to the library. He quickly snuck down the side. Technically it wasn’t an area that any of the students were supposed to be in. It was completely out of any classroom or teacher’s line of sight, which to Albus just made it perfect. James was sitting on the concrete just hidden enough behind a bush that unless you entirely turned the corner you wouldn’t be able to see him. There was a textbook in his lap but he had his phone resting in it and Albus was sure that he was carefully scrolling through Twitter. For a moment, he wished that he could be as fearless as James had always been.

 

***

 

“What the _hell_ did you do?”

 

Scorpius’ head snapped up as he was forced out of his thoughts and into the immediate wrath of Lily Potter. He always forgot how terrifying she could be when she was angry. Right now she was looking at him like she’d behead him if given the chance. He had no idea how to respond so he just met her eyes and hoped for mercy.

 

“Or should I rephrase. What did you say to him? Because if you’ve well and truly hurt him, Malfoy, you’re well and truly dead.”

 

Well, if she was using his last name then he might as well say his goodbyes.

 

Lily huffed, placed her hands on her hips and stared him straight in the eye. Scorpius had a good few inches on her but he felt tiny in comparison. “Do you know how awful it is to see Albus sad? Really really sad? I saw him in the hallway and he was staring so hard at the ground and so hunched over and I know that he just wants to disappear and he was doing that stupid thing with his face where he scrunches it all up to try and hide the fact that he wants to cry really badly and his eyes were already all red and _you_ did that to him.”

 

Scorpius blinked as she paused to catch her breath.

 

“And I hate you for it.”

 

He wished he could express how much her words had genuinely hurt him, but he didn’t think it was the time for that. It was the time for him to listen and take it in. “I deserved that,” he muttered.

 

“Roses, Malfoy? Really? I thought you were supposed to be the smart one.”

 

“Guess not.”

 

There was still movement in the hallway and for just a second Scorpius wondered how many people had heard that, and how many people knew what it all meant. He didn’t know if it mattered. Lily took a deep breath and that seemed to calm her down just enough that a flicker of sympathy crossed her features. It prompted him to ask her a question.

 

“How do I fix this?” He wondered if it seemed like he was begging her for help, because that’s exactly what he was doing.

 

“You’ll think of something.”

 

***

 

Albus practically fell to the ground next to his brother. For a moment he just sat there. The warning bell rang overhead and he didn’t care to move, just brought his knees up for his chest and rested his chin against them. That’s when he noticed James look up at him out of the corner of his eye.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Albus wished he had an answer that could encompass everything that he was feeling. Something that wasn’t a long story. “I hate boys,” he settled on.

 

The corner of James’ mouth quirked up, but he was quick to recover. He leaned back against the wall, phone and book forgotten for the moment. “What did Scorpius do?”

 

It was almost teasing, but not quite. Of course James knew. He fought against it anyway. “Why does it have to be Scorpius? Why can’t I just make a blanket statement about all boys?”

 

“Scorpius is the only boy you care about this much.”

 

Yeah. That was the problem. Albus sighed, sitting up and running his hands over his face and through his hair. His sleeve slipped down and he knew that James would notice the roses now.

 

“Wait. Is that …?”

 

It was almost comforting that James couldn’t really say it. “Yeah,” he muttered, the same bitterness slipping into his tone.

 

James took Albus’ wrist gently in his hand, spinning it to see the sheer amount of flowers that were drawn there, the blue ink standing out against Albus’ skin. “I’m going to have some words,” he said. “And maybe some fists. We’ll see.”

 

“You don’t have to hurt him. It’s not worth it.”

 

“He’s upset you. That’s more than enough cause.”

 

Albus shrugged. James dropped his hand again so he wrapped his arms around himself. “Why does Rose always get everything I want?” he asked. He wasn’t sure if he’s what he wanted to ask, but the question was tugging at him so insistently that it needed his attention.

 

He could feel James’ eyes on him. He knew that he’d understand what he meant. “She doesn’t.”

 

“She gets the praise, the grades, the - the boy.” None of this was Rose’s fault. Of course it wasn’t, but maybe falling back on his usual ‘I’ll never be the favourite’ schtick would help him through this.

 

“Albus, it showed up on your hand. You’re the one that got the boy.”

 

“What if Scorpius is my soulmate but I’m not his?” Maybe that’s what he was most afraid of. Just of thought of it made his stomach churn.

 

James rested a hand on his shoulder, trying to ground him against the spiral of bad thoughts. “That’s not how it works and you know it.”

 

“Would be just my luck, wouldn’t it?”

 

“Your inherent cynicism isn’t doing you any favours.”

 

“Guess not.”

 

The two of them paused. Albus continued to stare out in front of him at the grass. He watched a bird land and then hop around before flying off again. He wished he could do the same.

 

James’ hand fell from his shoulder. He closed the book in his lap and put it back in his bag, crossed his hands over his chest instead. “Are you mad at Rose?” he asked.

 

Albus shrugged. “I don’t know. Not really? It’s just - he’s supposed to be my best friend.”

 

“He _is_ your best friend.”

 

“And I’ve had to watch him feel _this_ for my cousin,” he explained, eyes falling to his hand and then instantly regretting it. He wrapped his sleeve around it again. “I kind of - I kind of want to cry about it.”

 

He nodded. “Then cry about it. Let it out.”

 

“I don’t want to give him the satisfaction.”

 

James nudged him gently with his elbow. “I doubt that’d be how he feels about it.”

 

“I’m not mad at him.”

 

“I know.”

 

“I don’t know if I wish I could be.”

 

James shifted, propped a leg up and rested his arm against it. “I’m sorry that it had to be like this,” he said. “Finding out who’s your soulmate is meant to be this big moment in your life. It’s supposed to be something like magic.”

 

Albus wished that it could be, more than anything.“I must be the only person in the world who’s soulmate doesn’t even want them,” he muttered.

 

“I wouldn’t go that far. He might need some time to come ‘round, but I’m sure that he wants you.”

 

“How could you possibly tell that?”

 

He paused for a moment. Albus looked over at him, watched him pull at a loose strand hanging from his sleeve. “I know that he’s an oblivious little nugget, but it’s there in the way that he looks at you.” James met his eyes. “Trust me.”

 

Albus wanted to believe him, so he nodded and when James offered him a smile in return he felt a little calmer. “It just feels shit right now,” he admitted.

 

“I can imagine. I’m sure it feels even worse for him. That might not make you feel any better, but you know,” he shrugged, “it’s good that he’s suffering too.”

 

He wasn’t sure why James was so good at cheering him up. It must have been the casual ease that encompassed him and everything that he did. It was probably the only thing that Albus truly envied about him.

 

“So, five pounds says that he comes and finds you in the next ten minutes,” James smirked, nudging him to try and get him to laugh.

 

He managed to crack a smile, rolled his eyes. “Can’t believe you’re that cheap, and he’s in class.”

 

“You’re right, this is high steaks. Ten pounds then.”

 

“You really think he’d come looking for me?”

 

James nodded. “Love waits for no man.”

 

“It’s not really love though, is it?”

 

“Isn’t it?”

 

He supposed he had a point. At the very least, it was love for Albus. Even if Scorpius didn’t quite feel that way. Albus fell victim to his thoughts again, getting lost in them quite easily. The next thing that prompted his attention was James grabbing onto his backpack and standing up.

 

“I’ll be expecting my payment as soon as I get home,” he said.

 

Before Albus had a chance to ask him what the hell he meant, James nodded, eyes fixed on something ahead of him. Albus turned to see that Scorpius was standing at the corner, staring intently at the ground. _Oh_.

 

***

 

James brushed passed him just a little too close, effectively bumping their shoulders together with a little more force than truly necessary. All Scorpius could think was that the gesture was definitely a very subtle James threat. He started feeling sick before he could register it in its entirety. He had to fix this. He had to fix it now. He swallowed, dragging his feet and sitting down just far enough from Albus that there was a little bit of distance between them.

 

Albus was entirely stiff, his jaw clenched and his hands balled into fists. “I don’t know if I want to see you right now,” he said.

 

Whatever Scorpius had been planning to say vanished into the chill in the air around them. “That’s fair.”

 

He paused, not really sure what he wanted to say. Part of him thought that he should be telling Scorpius to leave, but he definitely wasn’t strong enough for that. “You’re supposed to be in class,” he muttered, ashamed at just how stale the air was between them. It was never like this.

 

Scorpius shrugged in response. “I skipped.”

 

“That’s unlike you.”

 

“Yeah, a little.”

 

“You’re proving your dad’s point. I’m a bad influence on you.”

 

Scorpius laughed and for a split second, the tension around them disappeared. Then Albus’ smile fell and it settled once again. Scorpius twisted his hands in his lap. “Albus, I’m sorry. If I knew I wouldn’t have -“

 

“You don’t need to explain yourself.”

 

Maybe not but it certainly felt that way. “What do you need me to say?”

 

Albus shrugged. He wished he knew. “I don’t know. Just - just stay here. For a bit. Maybe.”

 

Scorpius wished that he would look up at him. “Ok,” he muttered, crossing her legs under him and staying put. He continued to twist his hands in his lap, hoping that he’d figure out a way to fix this.

 

“Are you still my best friend?”

 

He looked over at him but Albus was still staring at the ground. “If you’ll have me.”

 

Albus nodded. He pulled at his sleeves. He could feel Scorpius’ eye on him.

 

“I’m such an idiot,” he said. He wished he could say more. He wished he could time travel and take all of this back.

 

“You’re not. You’re the smartest person I know.”

 

“Albus, I’ve upset you. There’s no excuse for that.”

 

He met his eyes for just a second, before staring down at the ground again. “Maybe not.”

 

Scorpius hated how uncomfortable this was for them both. Things were never awkward between them. It wasn’t their way. “How long do you want me to stay with you for?”

 

Albus shrugged, pulled at his sleeves absently. “The goal is forever but that doesn’t seem liable.”

 

It went quiet as Scorpius took those words in. He supposed, the more he thought about it, that it made an awful lot of sense. He couldn’t picture his life without Albus in it, and he never wanted to. “It really feels like that for you?” he asked.

 

His hands stopped their constantly fidgeting. “Yeah.”

 

He paused, watched as Albus started to shift anxiously again with that admittance as the words settled in the air around them. Before he even registered what he was doing he reached over and tugged on Albus’ blazer, trying to get him to look at him. When he did, Scorpius leaned in, pressing their lips together. Instead of kissing him back, Albus pulled away.

 

“Scorpius, what are you doing?” He didn’t sound angry. Just confused, and the bitterness had been replaced with something akin to desperation.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t be sorry just - what … why?”

 

If only he had the answers. “I don’t know,” he muttered.

 

Albus looked at him. Scorpius had a sneaking feeling that he was searching for something. Whatever it was, he must have found it because after a moment Albus was kissing him again. If Scorpius realised anything, it was that whatever he’d been feeling up until that point had been a lie. A misunderstanding. Albus was the first to pull away again.

 

“Wait. What are you thinking about?”

 

“You.” Wasn’t he always?

 

He nodded, but there was a certain level of caution to it. “Me, and that’s it?”

 

“I was wrong,” he muttered. “About Rose.”

 

The small amount of pain that flashed in Albus’ eyes compelled Scorpius to quickly clarify what he meant.

 

He let go of Albus’ blazer, taking his hand instead. “I was wrong about her, Albus. It wasn’t her that I liked.” Scorpius watched as Albus stared down at their hands and he could tell that he didn’t quite believe him yet. “I’ve been thinking -”

 

“Good for you.”

 

He stopped mid sentence because he had to laugh at that. At the relief that Albus was finally back to teasing, even just a little. He recovered again. “I think liking her seemed easier,” he explained.

 

“Easier than being with me?”

 

He shook his head. “Easier than losing you.”

 

Albus looked up at him. There were far too many emotions swirling around in his eyes, and Scorpius couldn’t quite pin down which was the most prominent. “You thought you were going to lose me?”

 

“Albus, I almost did. Just then.”

 

He paused, seemed to take that in. He took a deep breath and squeezed Scorpius’ hand. “But kissing me -  was that - did that feel like something for you?”

 

“Of course it felt like something.”

 

“No, but did it really, like, properly feel like something?”

 

Scorpius nodded, a small smile overcoming him.

 

For a moment, all he could see was relief. “Scorpius, do you think we could - do you think this could work?”

 

“Yeah. I do.” He intertwined their fingers easily, noting that Albus seemed to hold his breath while he did so. “I’m sorry if I made you doubt that before.”

 

He shook his head. “It’s ok.”

 

“Is it? I must have made you feel awful.”

 

He shrugged. “I think the way you’ve made me feel right now helped with that.”

 

He smiled, and was grateful for that fact that Albus did too. “So, what do we do now?”

 

“Well, you need to get back to class.”

 

“Bit late for that, isn’t it?”

 

Albus laughed. “Maybe, but you’re not missing out on history. It’s your favourite.”

 

“You’re my favourite.”

 

He stopped in his tracks, the compliment seeming to startle him. Scorpius made a mental note to say things like that more often. Albus recovered by rolling his eyes. “Yeah, whatever, but you’re a nerd so you’re going back to class.”

 

Scorpius thought about that. He checked the time on his phone. It had been a good twenty minutes since the bell rang. Which meant that they were almost at the halfway point for that class. They couldn’t really use the excuse that they’d gotten lost or needed to help a kid find their room. He racked his brain for something that could work. “We could get Hagrid to sign something and pretend we had a good reason to be out of class?”

 

“See, this is why you’re the smart one.”

 

***

 

Albus tried to sneak ever so carefully into his economics class but as he opened the door every single pair of eyes in the room turned to look at him. He felt the tips of his ears start to go red at all of the attention. His teacher gave him a weird look, but he handed over Hagrid’s note and quickly took his seat next to Rose, pulling his notebook and a pen of his bag as the class fell back into motion. He could tell that Rose was just a little uncomfortable, a little confused at where they stood now considering everything that had happened. He couldn’t help but realise that she might have even felt a little guilty about it all. His eyes flicked between her and the notes being written on the whiteboard at the front. He quickly scribbled a note in the margin of his book, tapping her arm gently to get her attention.

 

_We fixed it._

 

Albus stared back at the board, but he could see her write something back out of the corner of his eye. _How so?_

 

He wasn’t sure why he was almost embarrassed to answer. _We kind of kissed. Twice._

 

Rose’s next response took about two seconds for her to write. _Wow. Gay._

 

 _Yeah. It was._ _Point is you don’t have to worry about me anymore_.

 

Her next reply took a little longer. She started writing and then crossed something out before starting again. _I still feel awful about it._

 

Albus wished that she didn’t have to. _It wasn’t your fault and I think we’re going to be ok._

 

_So I don’t have to slap him then?_

 

He had to suppress his urge to roll his eyes before writing something back. _No._

 

_A shame._

 

Albus looked up at Rose. She was smirking, biting down on her lip to try and stop herself from laughing. He nudged her gently with his elbow and she broke out into a smile.

 

“I’m happy for you,” she whispered, lowering her voice just enough that only he could hear her.

 

“I’m happy too.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know that Rose was a little harsher in this. I was trying to align her a little more with the actual Cursed Child version of her I typically stray way from. It just sort of worked out that way. 
> 
> For what it's worth: Lily is 14, Scorpius, Albus and Rose are all 16, and James is 18 (or almost that. I can't remember when his birthday is.)
> 
> I'm over at [potter-awakening](http://www.potter-awakening.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr if anyone wants to chat!!


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